League beneficial to freshmen

Dalton West, Matthew Johnson and Tyler Tichenor are hoping to gain a few steps forward this summer with the Owensboro Oilers, in order to not take any steps back when they arrive at college in the fall.

Apollo High School stars West and Johnson, and Tichenor from Ohio County, wanted to play in the Ohio Valley Collegiate Baseball League, a wooden bat league.

The reason was simple. It's the notion that facing tougher competition can only make you better.

"The advantage for me is seeing college pitching early," said Tichenor, a former Ohio County standout who will play at Trevecca Nazarene -- a soon-to-be NCAA Divison II school in Nashville. "Beginning my freshman year, I don't have to go in and the first thing I see is college pitching. I can get out of my slump now. I can recognize pitches now instead of taking 20 games out of my freshman year to do so."

"If you play (American) Legion ball, those guys are straight out of high school just like you are, so they're not going to really be in the college atmosphere yet like these guys," West said. "Every one of them has already played college ball. So as far as that goes, I think just the college experience is the best.

"I'd much rather do this and get college pitching experience in then have to get used to it when I get down there next year."

In a league comprised of mostly players with at least a year of college experience, incoming freshmen get a true taste of next-level baseball.

The five teams that make up the league travel and play nearly every day.

If they're sore, they have to learn how to fight through it and be able to play the next day and still be productive.

It truly can become a grind for players who aren't used to it.

"I love it," Tichenor said. "I can get used to it now. I play every day now, get all my soreness out and get used to it instead of going to college and then getting used to it. I'll just be a step ahead of all the other freshmen."

And now, instead of seeing 70-75 mile per hour pitches, they're facing pitchers who can throw 85-90 miles per hour. Mix in trying to pick up on offspeed and breaking pitches, and it becomes even harder for a hitter who hasn't seen much of that.

If numbers don't lie, the summer will indeed prove to be a good place for the three players to get the kinks out. West and Johnson's averages are hovering near .260, while Tichenor has been at .164 average heading into Saturday's game against Fulton. The three have combined for seven extra base hits.

Johnson was not at the game on Saturday.

Part of that could also be attributed to using a different bat. While the differences between a metal bat and wooden bat aren't major, there are enough that require adjustments.

It's not that the wooden bats are heavier, Tichenor explained, it's that the weight on them is spread out differently. The weight on metal bats is evenly distributed, whereas wooden bats are heavier at the barrel and handle, he said.

Coach Aaron Biddle said hitters can't get away with as much using a wooden bat.

"The biggest difference to me, really, is the wooden bat's sweet spot isn't quite as big as what you've got on an aluminum bat," he said. "If you've got an aluminum bat and you flare it off the end, it's got enough pop behind it to get it over the shortstop. If you flare a wood bat off the end, it's going to snap in half and probably not get out of the infield."

Tichenor said the wooden bats will help him "barrel the ball out more."

"It helps you hit the sweet spot more," he said. "So when I go back into the transition of using metal bats, I'll hit it more on the barrel."

Even if the players' have a tough time at the plate the rest of the summer, Biddle said the experience they gain will be invaluable.

"I think it helps immensely," he said. "The best way to get better at baseball is by playing baseball. So if you go out and get to play day in and day out, constantly seeing good pitching and good hitting, it's a plus."

--Tichenor was one of three Owensboro Oilers with an RBI each, but Fulton beat the Oilers 10-5 on Saturday at Chautauqua Park.

Tichenor, Caleb Matthews and John Saylor were the Oilers with RBIs in the Ohio Valley Summer Collegiate League game.